This week I got the chance to tell the story of local trucker Gary Webber, appearing in our Thursday, March 28 edition of Kamloops This Week. Check out his story below. — EAG
The Happy Christian
Gary Webber is a trucker who wears his faith on his grille
by Dave Eagles — KTW reporter
Ice Road Truckers are burly, bearded, profane men driving 18-wheelers who welcome storms as breaks from boredom.
Gary Webber has similar attributes — save the swearing and storm-seeking soul.
The large, luminous cross on his truck is the first sign the 40-year trucker is not your stereotypical Ice Road Trucker of History Channel lore.
He’s more Nice Road Trucker.
The 61-year-old drives a white Freightliner Classic based out of Savona. He works for Panwest Distributors.
Three times a week, up to 14 hours a day, Webber delivers veneer — and the gospel — from Lillooet to Savona.
It was 40 years ago while working for Imperial Oil out of Vancouver that Webber was preparing paperwork before heading out on a trip when he noticed a fellow walk through the door, an owner/operator named John Klassen.
Klassen invited Webber to join Transfer For Christ, a not-for profit organization for truckers with a desire to share the gospel of Jesus Christ while on the road. Webber signed up, beginning a life-long association with the gospel-minded group.
“It really sparked me because, being a Christian, I thought, ‘Wow! This was what I want to do — to serve Christ on the road,” Webber said.
“I became ‘The Happy Christian,’” Webber said.
Taking solace in solitude
"Somebody will see the cross on my truck and say, 'Hey, is that really there for a reason?' You bet"
So, the Nice Road Trucker became The Happy Christian on CB radios across the land, back when a different kind of camaraderie, a more cohesive camaraderie, existed among the men and women on the lonely roads of North America.
During his career, Webber would be away from his family for days, perhaps weeks, at a time.
It was then, he said, that God would bring him to different men at their wit’s end, men who didn’t know what to do.
Their family was on the verge of breaking up and their lives were a mess.
“I’d be able to share the gospel with them and bring some peace to their life through Christ,” Webber said.
It’s what has kept him in trucking through the years.
He never did like being away from home, so trucking became a ministry for him — a calling handed down by God.
“In the wee hours of the morning, when you’re stuck trucking through a storm, somebody will see the cross on my truck and say, ‘Hey, is that really there for a reason?’ Webber said.
“Then I’ll say, ‘You bet. That’s the gospel of Jesus Christ.
“That’s the Light of the World. The only hope we have in this world is through Christ.”
Webber has shared his faith with other truckers in as many ways as there have been destinations on his manifest.
In truck stops, he often finds someone who will open up and share their life story with him.
It offers him a chance to listen and give an account of his own life and how his faith in Christ has helped him — especially on the road.
While the gospel remains constant, the trucking part of his mission has changed dramatically since he began four decades ago.
“The demand is incredible,” Webber said.
“It’s a different kind of market now.
“There’s no warehousing much any more.
“Everything is loaded onto the truck and delivered the next day.”
That, he said, translates to greater pressure as drivers are pushed to the limit to get their delivery done.
“Even if it’s extreme weather, you have to be at your destination,” Webber said. “It’s a tough business, as it was years ago, but, not as tough as it is now.”
Webber credits Christ after escaping close call
"The only thing that held me was the landing legs."
And, sometimes, Mother Nature can be as tough as the business of hauling goods.
“One time, I came out of Fort Nelson and I was climbing this real steep hill, Trutch Mountain it’s called, and I spin out,” Webber recounted.
“I didn’t have time to put a set of chains on and the truck all of a sudden took off backwards down this icy, steep road and jackknifed across the road, going down into the ditch.
“The only thing that held me was the landing legs of the trailer to keep me from going 1,000 feet over the bank — and that’s usually after you’ve shared your faith with someone.
“It’s been one close call after another, lots of times.”
While Christ remains his lifeline, his support system is Joanne, his wife of 41 years.
She raised the couple’s two daughters while he was on the road and they now have six grandchildren.
Webber taught his wife to drive and, for a three-year stint, they crossed Canada in a brand new Freightliner rig.
“Every week we’d come home, I’d sell the truck and she’d quit,” Webber said.
“And, then, we’d turn around and head back out again to Toronto.”
Friends would quip: “You taught your wife to drive and you’re still married?” But, Webber said, Joanne was solid behind the wheel.
“She was an amazing driver — really good, in fact, running lots of winter storms across Canada,” he said.
As his time behind the coasting cross shows, Webber’s life purpose is to share the gospel of Jesus Christ and to be there for men and women who are hurting.
Before parting with his trucker pals, Webber routinely offers a blessing over them:
“May the good Lord ride with you and watch over you and bring you home safely to your family.”
